Global Health Course Reflections

Hello from Geneva!

I mentioned in my last post that I would soon begin my Health Policy in a Globalizing World course with Anthony So and said I would be sure to blog about it. Surprise, surprise, the course week came and went and I didn't have a chance to post. I was way too busy.

In short, the course was great. It was a broad survey of global health topics as told by people that have devoted their careers to working in those areas. We heard from Dr. Jorge Bermudez about the success of UNITAID's innovative airline tax to fund malaria, Tb and HIV interventions (he's the Executive Director and pictured here). We heard Dr. Manuel Dayrit discuss the Human Resources for Health framework that the WHO is using to address this aspect of health system strengthening (he's the HRH Director and former Minister of Health for the Phillipines). And we heard from about 20 other experts in their fields with chances for questions and answers.

Every day was packed. Every morning was filled with lectures, every afternoon with site visits around Geneva and every evening with a social event aimed at interacting with each other and with our mentors and hosts at various organizations.

On Friday afternoon we finished the course up at MSF (Doctors without Borders) and Dr. So delivered a great closing address encouraging us to take what we had learned and make the world a better place.

Hopefully we will.

Aaron Stoertz is in the Master of Global Health program at Duke University. He is participating in the Global Health Track of the Duke Program in Global Policy and Governance and is working as a human resources for health intern at the World Health Organization.